Desperation in Afghanistan leads to sale of children

Summary

Global News Podcast – "Desperation in Afghanistan Leads to Sale of Children"

BBC World Service
Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Valerie Sanderson

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on an in-depth, harrowing report from Afghanistan, where the ongoing humanitarian crisis has forced some families into dire, unimaginable choices—selling their children to survive. The report offers rare on-the-ground coverage in a country where foreign journalists have limited access. Alongside, the episode also covers global developments including Russia-China relations, the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, Kenya’s transport strike, new marine species discoveries, and a feature on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

[02:23 – 07:12]

• Worsening Situation: Severe drought, international aid cuts, and Taliban policy have left much of Afghanistan on the brink of famine.

  • 4.7 million Afghans—over a tenth of the population—are one step away from famine.
  • 3 out of 4 Afghans struggle for food, jobs, and healthcare.

• On-the-Ground Reporting: Correspondent Yogita Limaye visits Ghor province’s capital, Chaghcharan.

  • Hundreds of men gather daily at the central square, desperately seeking day labor for meager pay ($2–4 per day).
  • The atmosphere is one of hopelessness and desperation.

  “We’re starving, and no one gives me work because I’m old.” — Unnamed Afghan man [03:28]

• Desperate Measures – Selling Children

  • Interview with Abdul Rashid Azimi, a father of twins aged 7:

    "I'm ready to sell my daughters. I'm helpless and poor... My children come to me saying, 'Baba, give us some bread.' But what can I give?... It breaks my heart, but that's the only way to feed my other children." — Abdul Rashid Azimi [04:54]

  • Another case: Saeed Ahmad, who sold his five-year-old daughter, Shaikha, so she could have surgery. She's been bought to marry a distant relative in five years:

    “If I had money, I would have never taken this decision. But then I got scared. What if she died without the surgery? This way at least she will be alive. That is enough for me.” — Saeed Ahmad [06:12]

• Child Mortality

  • A village elder recounts:

    "Roughly four to six children die every month here." [06:40]

  • More children’s graves than adults; many deaths unrecorded, an "invisible wave" of child mortality.

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2. Russia-China Relations & Putin's Visit to Beijing

[07:12 – 10:42]

• Diplomatic Visit: Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing shortly after Donald Trump. Kremlin highlights "unprecedented trust" with China.

  “I am pleased to once again visit Beijing at the invitation of my longtime good friend… An important and integral part of a joint effort…” — Vladimir Putin [08:09]

• Strategic Discussions: Talks likely to include a new Siberian pipeline project for Russian gas to China.

• Power Imbalance: Russia is more dependent on China post-Ukraine invasion, making Putin the "junior partner."

• China’s Diplomatic Balancing Act: Juggling relationships with Western nations, Russia, and neutrality on Ukraine.

  “For China now…he is portraying this vision of a geopolitical axis—saying goodbye to Donald Trump one minute and saying hello to Vladimir Putin.” — Laura Bicker, BBC Beijing [10:20]

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3. Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa

[10:42 – 15:20]

• Outbreak Details:

  • Over 500 cases; 131 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Virus strain (Bundibugyo): No vaccine or therapeutic available.

  "This epidemic is caused by Bundibugyo virus...for which there are no vaccines or therapeutics." — WHO Director-General [11:19]

• Challenges:

  • Efforts focus on risk communication and community engagement.
  • Cultural practices (body washing, close greetings) complicate containment.

• Regional Impact: Ebola detected in neighboring Uganda; high concern but minimal spread outside DRC.

  “So far, only two cases have been detected outside the DRC…one of the two people…passed away…” — Reporter [13:40]

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4. Kenya’s Nationwide Transport Strike

[19:20 – 22:09]

• Context: Triggered by steep rises in fuel prices (diesel increased ~50%).

• Impact:

  • Protests led to casualties and hundreds of arrests.
  • Nairobi and other cities saw closed schools, deserted businesses—“like a ghost town.”
  • Strike suspended for 7 days pending government negotiations.

  "People have really taken quite a bit of a hit…really pushed even the cost of living significantly higher." — Richard Kagoi, Nairobi [20:37]

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5. Jeffrey Epstein Case: Victim or Enabler?

[22:09 – 27:18]

• Focus: US Congress debates whether four women, including Nadia Marcinko, were Epstein’s victims or co-conspirators.

  • Marcinko’s complex relationship with Epstein: legal immunity, coercion, and potential complicity.

    "What do you imagine is a fun sex thing? ... I will try to find girls whenever we are in New York." — Nadia Marcinko [24:06] "She was his sex slave, insulting her, physically abusing her, including by choking her and throwing her down a set of stairs." — Reading from documents [24:45]

  • Legal/ethical ambiguity, survivor testimony, and public accountability.

    "I have a line that I draw, and that line is whether the victim has ever been away from the power and control of the perpetrator…” — Bridget Carr, Michigan University [26:08] "I do not want to be with you, but it upsets me to see you use the exact same patterns to seduce, manipulate and ultimately control and hurt other girls... But my conscience is far from clear." — Nadia Marcinko, email to Epstein [26:48]

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6. Other Headlines

• Estonia Drone Incident [15:20 – 16:50]

  • Estonian airspace breached by Ukrainian drone; NATO fighter jet intervenes. Tension over airspace security in the Baltics.

• New Ocean Species Discovery [29:41 – 32:07]

  • Scientists discover 1,100 new marine species, including "ghost sharks" and "glass castle worms."

    “It is glass—it’s made of silica, these silica needles… Both sponge and worm are gaining.” — Dr. Michelle Taylor [30:37] “It’s estimated perhaps 90% of the species in our marine environments are left to be discovered.” — Dr. Michelle Taylor [31:23]

  • Findings prompt reflection on conservation and knowledge gaps in marine science.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

Afghanistan Crisis

• “It was really tough witnessing that. It was something we weren’t prepared for. Especially in this country, men tend to be very stoical. So to see a man weeping in front of us, helpless… we were unprepared for that. But what it tells you is the severity of the situation here.” — Yogita Limaye [05:17]

Ebola Epidemic

• “Ebola can be transmitted through sweat and blood. When someone passes away, the body is washed by locals…and this ends up transmitting the disease.” — Thomas Makwana [12:46]

Jeffrey Epstein Case

• “It's really important to think about power and control.” — Bridget Carr [25:52]

New Marine Species

• “The more we can discover these species, the more we can contribute and the more we can understand the world around us and make those decisions with knowledge.” — Dr. Michelle Taylor [31:23]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Afghanistan Special Report: 02:23 – 07:12
• Russia-China Relations: 07:12 – 10:42
• Ebola Crisis in Africa: 10:42 – 15:20
• Kenya Transport Strike: 19:20 – 22:09
• Jeffrey Epstein Case: 22:09 – 27:18
• New Ocean Species: 29:41 – 32:07

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains the balanced, measured, and informative tone characteristic of BBC World Service reporting, even when describing extremely difficult material—particularly the heart-wrenching stories from Afghanistan. Direct quotes are emotional and unfiltered, adding human depth to the reporting.

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This summary provides a comprehensive breakdown of the episode’s vital topics and most poignant moments—an accessible, detailed reference for those who haven’t listened to the podcast.

Transcript

[A]

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[E]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 15 hours GMT on Tuesday 19th May, these are our main stories. We have a special report on Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. The Russian leader Vladimir Putin is visiting Beijing days after President Trump. The Kenyan government says a crippling transport strike over fuel price hikes has been suspended. Also in this podcast, the health organization scales up its response to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa.

[F]

This epidemic is caused by Bundibujo, a virus, a species of Ebola virus for which there are no vaccines or therapeutics.

[E]

Afghanistan is facing a desperate lack of food, a situation exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis made worse by dramat cuts, the Taliban government's policies and severe drought. Winter has pushed 4.7 million people, that's more than a tenth of the population to one step away from famine. Three out of four Afghans struggle to find food, jobs and access to health care. It's difficult for foreign journalists to report from Afghanistan. Our correspondent Yogata Lamai has been there, where she traveled to the Gor Province with Imogen Anderson, Mahfoud Zubayd and Sanjay Ganguly. Some listeners might find their report upsetting.

[G]

It's bright and early in the morning and we've come to the central square in the town of Chakcharan, the capital of Kol province. And around me are hundreds of men who've gathered here. This is the spot they come to every morning hoping to find work. Joblessness is a huge issue in this country. When they do find work, people have told us they get paid anything between 150 to 250 Afghani, which is roughly 2 to $4. And their families are really struggling. So desperate that one man has broken down as he was speaking to us. We're starving and no one gives me work because I'm old. So we've just suddenly seen a lot of people rush to a spot we followed. And what we can see is one man on a motorcycle who's come to find one or two laborers. Dozens of men have actually thrown themselves at him, desperate, so that they can get one day of work, one day of wages. I'm just on the outskirts of the city of Chakcharan and there's a man who's inviting us into his home and we're going to speak to him to find out his story. Abdul Rashid Azimi calls for his daughters. Rokiya and Rohila are twins, seven years old, little girls with brown hair and dark eyes. Abdul holds them close, eager to explain why he's making unbearable choices, breaking down as he speaks.

[H]

I'm ready to sell my daughters. I'm helpless and poor. I come home with parched lips, hungry, thirsty, distressed and confused. My children come to me saying baba, give us some bread. But what can I give? Where is the work so I can earn? It breaks my heart, but that's the only way to feed my other children.

[G]

We've just come out of speaking to Rashit Azimi. It was really tough witnessing that. It was something we weren't prepared for. Especially in this country, men tend to be very stoical. So to see a man weeping in front of us, helpless, we were unprepared for that. But what it tells you is the severity of the situation here. This isn't an isolated story. In another home we meet Saeed Ahmad who sold his daughter, five year old Shaikha because he didn't have money for an appendicitis surgery that she needed. Little Shaikha clutches onto her father, her small arms around his neck. He comforts her. In five years, when she's 10, she'll have to leave everything that's familiar to go to the home of the distant relative who's bought her to marry his son.

[I]

If I had money, I would have never taken this decision. But then I got scared. What if she died without the surgery? This way at least she will be alive. That is enough for me.

[G]

We've heard from people in the community, as well as an elder from the village, that there's been an increased number of children dying in the past two years, he said of malnutrition.

[H]

Roughly four to six children die every month here.

[I]

Child mortality has really increased from past experience.

[G]

We know that because these deaths are not actually recorded anywhere. The only place you can see the evidence of that is in the graveyard. So we've come up to the community graveyard. What really stands out is that there is twice as many children's graves as adult graves, more evidence of an invisible wave of deaths among Afghanistan's children, and something that probably will never be counted, that will never be marked.

[E]

Yogurt as we record this podcast, President Putin is due to have arrived in China just days after Beijing hosted Donald Trump. In a video address released by the Kremlin as he left Russia, Mr. Putin said there was an unprecedented level of trust between his country and China. Ahead of President Putin's arrival in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied a report in the Financial Times that President Xi told President Trump that Mr. Putin might come to regret invading Ukraine. So what can we expect from this trip? Here's our Beijing correspondent, Laura Bicker.

[J]

Ahead of his visit, Vladimir Putin released a video to what he called his dear Chinese friends and in that video he hailed an unprecedented level of trust and respect between Russia and China. And what he said is that ties economically, politically and in defence are growing between the two nations.

[H]

I am pleased to once again visit Beijing at the invitation of my longtime good friend, President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping. The regular exchange of visits and high level Russia. China talks are an important and integral part of a joint effort to develop the full range of relations between our two countries and unlock their truly limitless potential.

[J]

Now he will have talks with President Xi Jinping. Those talks will likely focus on whether or not China will agree to a power of Siberia pipeline. This is a second pipeline that would run all the way down through northern China and would really kind of focus on funneling gas supplies to China. But remember, China is on a path of self reliance when it comes to energy, trying to push towards more renewables, the likes of wind power, solar power and hydropower. It does not want to become too reliant on one neighbor. So if that pipeline does go ahead, we will be, I think, watching that carefully. When it comes to this alliance, it's one that's perhaps misunderstood because when it looks, when people see these two leaders together, Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin, they look like close allies. And they have certainly met a lot of times, 40 times. And then he's been here, Mr. Putin has been in China more than 20 times. However, there's a few caveats to that. This relationship is now really lopsided. Russia is far more reliant on China since Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine after he was sanctioned by many Western countries. And so Mr. Putin will come here as the junior partner. And in those discussions with Mr. Xi, he will have to push for certain geopolitical advantages. And he will also be wanting to know exactly what Mr. Xi does discussed with Donald Trump last week. For China, this is a real balancing act politically because China wants to maintain stable ties with the west, wants to maintain a neutrality when it comes to the war in Ukraine, and yet it still wants those stable ties with its friend and neighbor, Russia. So China will be looking for diplomatic room to maneuver. But there is no doubt for China now and for Mr. Xi, he will think and he will feel that he is portraying this vision of a geopolitical axis here in China, saying goodbye to Donald Trump one minute and saying hello to Vladimir Putin. It does look to the world as if all paths lead to Beijing.

[E]

Laura Bicker, and we'll have more on this on our YouTube channel. Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News Podcast. In the podcast section, there's a new story available every weekday. There is growing international concern about the scale of the Ebola epidemic in Africa. Now there's confirmation that the number of deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo has shot up to at least 131. More than 500 people are infected. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adanam Ghebreyesus, says the developments are deeply concerning and the WHO is to hold an emergency meeting.

[F]

This epidemic is caused by Bundibujo virus, a species of Ebola virus for which there are no vaccines or therapeutics. In the absence of a vaccine, there are many other measures countries, of course, can take to stop the spread of this virus and save lives even without medical countermeasures, including risk communication and community engagement.

[E]

The WHO representative in the DRC, Dr. Anne Ancia, is at the epicentre of relief efforts in Bunia in eastern Congo, and she says the lack of vaccine

[K]

is Challenging the way that we're going to have to work to be able to decrease and stop the transmission of this virus is working very closely with the local population to make sure that, you know, they have the right behavior. For example, if they feel the symptoms of the disease, they need to come directly to the health facilities to get treated. And then they need to give us the list of the contact, the people with whom they've been in contact for the past days so that we can go and find those people and isolate them so that they themselves are not starting to transmit the disease when they become symptomatic and transmit the disease to other people.

[E]

The WHO has released almost $4 million in emergency funding, declaring it an international emergency. As our correspondent in Nairobi, Thomas Makwana

[L]

explains, over a few days we've seen WHO delivering around 12 tons of medical supplies and equipment into DRC, particularly that epicenter of Ituri Province. But WHO insists that this was detected far too late. And the problem is Ebola virus is spread through bodily fluids. In Africa. You'll know that greetings are not only by hand, they're done through hugging, sometimes through cheek kisses. And Ebola virus can be transmitted through sweat and blood. And when someone passes away in most of these places in drc, they're not taken to a morgue because morgues sometimes aren't available. And so the body is washed by locals and the families and then this ends up transmitting the disease.

[E]

And also there must be huge concern that it's going to spread outside the country as well and take off like wildfire.

[L]

Yes, yes. So that concern remains very, very high. However, the infections have not manifested yet. Perhaps this is because it takes around 21 days for someone to show symptoms. But so far, one case, only one, only two cases have been detected outside the drc. That's in the neighboring Uganda, in the capital of Kampala. And One of the two people who was detected the virus passed away, a 59 year old man. But the problem is he traveled from all the way from the epicenter in Ituri province in the city of Bunya, across the border into Uganda and all the way to Kampala and was was taken into a hospital and was admitted for a few days before passing away. Now you can imagine the entire way from Bonier, then crossing over into Uganda, how many people might have come into contact with him. And the problem is also in hospitals within drc. So far, according to the who, around four healthcare workers have been infected with the virus. So there's healthcare transmission that's also happening because if you imagine places in DRC and many places within Africa, hospitals are under equipped and understaffed. And what ends up happening is transmission is quite easier because protective gear isn't there. And so the concern remains very low. But Uganda has enhanced border surveillance and also screening between the borders. Same has Rwanda. Rwanda actually has completely restricted access into the country for non Rwandese people. According to reports, it's completely restricted border access. And Kenya is also heightening surveillance and screening at all ports of entry, at airports and with the border with Uganda. Same with South Sudan and Tanzania.

[E]

Thomas Makwana, the defense minister in Estonia, says that a fighter jet has shot down a drone over its territory. It's believed to have been launched by Ukraine against Russia, but apparently was knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming. No damage has been reported. Moscow claims the Baltic states are allowing Ukraine an air corridor for its attacks on Russia. Our Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford reports.

[M]

It was around midday when residents in southern Estonia got an alert on their phones warning of an attack drone heading towards them. Minutes later, it had been shot down by a Romanian F16 fighter jet, part of NATO's Quick Reaction Force. The drone seems to have come from Ukraine, which has hugely increased its launches in recent weeks against targets in Russia, including energy facilities close to the Baltic states. Today, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Kyiv accused Moscow of forcing some of those drones off course on purpose and into Baltic airspace using electronic warfare. He denied Ukraine was using the Baltic as an air corridor as Russia claims, or planning to launch drones from there against Russia. But disorientated drones are a security risk this time. Estonia's Defence Ministry says the threat was removed with the first missile and the drone debris landed on swampy ground. But earlier this month, two stray Ukrainian drones hit an empty oil storage facility in southern Latvia. The government there then collapsed over how that incident was handled.

[E]

Sarah Rainsford, still to come in this podcast, ghost sharks and glass castle worms, new marine species are identified in a scientific study.

[N]

It's estimated perhaps 90% of the species in our marine environments are left to be discovered.

[O]

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[E]

A nationwide transport strike in Kenya, sparked by a steep rise in petrol and diesel prices, has been suspended. On Monday, protests over high fuel costs caused by the conflict in Iran descended into clashes. Four people were killed and hundreds were arrested. But Tuesday's strike began with empty streets, shuttered shops and schools. A global affairs reporter, Richard Kagoi, is in Nairobi and Toby Moore.

[P]

There have been consultations that actually began yesterday but ended in a stalemate because both parties couldn't agree that the Kenyan government and the minibus taxi operators very popular in East Africa, called Matatu. And so what they have said is that they have agreed to suspend the strike for another seven days just to allow for further negotiations between the two parties. The interior minister has said that the reason why they have decided to make this decision is just to mitigate the impact of the ongoing strike, which had really caused widespread disruptions, not just in the capital, Nairobi, but in many other cities across Kenya.

[E]

Well, tell us what life is like for people. I mean, how have prices gone up?

[P]

Well, you know, prices have really been increasing and so in the last review, because they usually do a monthly review on the 14th of May the price of diesel increased by nearly 50% and that's quite significant. And because there had been another review which marginally increased the price of fuel in the month of April. And so this has really caused a lot of anxiety amongst people, especially consumers, because you're seeing a rise in the cost of basic commodities and especially for transport. And because largely transport across Kenya is run and operated by private investors, people have really taken quite a bit of a hit. And so it's really pushed even the cost of living significantly higher.

[E]

And shops and businesses actually begun to close over this.

[P]

Oh, actually when the notice came out on Saturday, I think must have been on Sunday night, you know, shops were closed, schools were closed, offices as well across, especially in Nairobi, in downtown Nairobi, it's sort of like a ghost town. There was nobody in town except for pockets of demonstrators. The reason why, it's because there were violent demonstrations that really took place last year on the anniversary of the Gen Z protest that took place in 2024. And so a lot of people really do remember what happened. So literally across the streets there are no people. So literally there's been nobody in town, very few people. And it's because people are really taking caution.

[E]

Richard Kagoi now, is it possible to be both a victim of sexual coercion and an enabler of it? That's the question a powerful committee of the US Congress has been grappling with following a call from one of its members for an investigation into four women who were named by prosecutors as potential co conspirators of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but were then granted immunity in a 2008 plea deal. One is Nadia Marcinko, a former girlfriend of Epstein and a model who went on to become a successful pilot. Tim Huell has been investigating her story.

[Q]

I participated in your life, your idea of fun. I stood by you for years of legal battles and jail time. There was nobody you could trust more or who loved you more. I've been Perfect.

[A]

It was August 2010 and a 25 year old woman was writing to Jeffrey Epstein. Their relationship had just ended after nearly seven years. During that time he'd served just over a year in prison for soliciting sex from an underage girl. And while he was there, the woman visited him at least 67 times after he was released. Emails show they planned to start a family together. The woman's name was Nadia Marcinko. She was a model recently arrived from Slovakia when she first met Epstein aged 18. And she became his main girlfriend after Ghislaine Maxwell Emails between them in the Epstein files released by the U.S. department of justice make clear it was a love affair, though a very unequal one. He was 32 years her senior and he lectured her a lot.

[P]

I want you to learn how to

[A]

cook eggs, scrambled, poached, over easy.

[P]

I want you to learn how to run a house.

[A]

You cannot put anything in without letting

[E]

me see it first.

[A]

JAY But Marcinko had other duties too, including, as the emails show, finding other women for him.

[Q]

What do you imagine is a fun sex thing? I will do what I can, even though if this is simply about you having sex with someone else, I don't know how it makes our relationship better. I will try to find girls whenever we are in New York.

[A]

The BBC's found no evidence in the files that Marcinko recruited underage girls. But victims abused by Epstein in his Palm beach mansion claimed in their testimony that she was involved in the sex sessions with them. After Epstein's death, her lawyer told US federal investigators she didn't know they were underage and her whole relationship with Epstein had been coercive, referring to her as

[I]

his sex slave, insulting her and physically abusing her, including by choking her and

[P]

throwing her down a set of stairs,

[A]

documents in the files show. The FBI later said that Marcinko had been recruited, harboured and obtained by Jeffrey Epstein and others for purposes of a coercive sexual relationship. But earlier this year, her victim status and that of three other women named as potential co conspirators was called into question by U.S. congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican member of the House Oversight Committee.

[J]

All of these women engaged in the

[O]

trafficking of minors as adults.

[E]

They were working and complicit with Jeffrey Epstein's operation.

[A]

Now two of those women are about to give testimony to the committee. Sarah Kellon later this week and Leslie Groff next month. They were both salaried assistants of Epstein, whose tasks included scheduling girls visits. But members of the committee have said they're divided about whether to treat them as victims or victimisers. And arguments are also continuing about whether to call the other two. Adriana Ross, another Epstein assistant, and Nadia Marcinko.

[J]

It's really important to think about power and control.

[A]

The question of whether a victim may also become an accomplice is one that lawyers regularly face. Bridget Carr is professor of clinical law at Michigan University and has worked extensively with victims of human trafficking.

[J]

I have a line that I draw and that line is whether the victim has ever been away from the power and control of the perpetrator and whether the victim's vulnerability is no longer there to be exploited.

[A]

In 2019, Marcinko told investigators she had been totally under Epstein's power because she said he controlled her rights to stay in America and could have had her deported. She and her lawyers didn't reply when we asked to speak to them now. But one email she wrote to Epstein in 2012 after their relationship ended seems to hint at its complexity and also at the blurry lines between different roles in networks like his.

[Q]

I do not want to be with you, but it upsets me to see you use the exact same patterns to seduce, manipulate and ultimately control and hurt other girls. I don't even like them and I actually feel guilty about knowing how they will end up. I know what you're capable of and I will always be protective of you out of pure loyalty and stubbornness. But my conscience is far from clear.

[E]

And you can hear more from this story with Tim Whewell on assignment here on the World Service and on BBC Sounds. At the end of 2024, Isaac and Dick, the founder of one of Europe's leading fashion retailers, Mango, and fell to his death from a cliff near Barcelona. He was hiking with his son Jonathan Andique, who's now been arrested on suspicion of possible homicide. He's always denied any responsibility, saying it was an accident. I got more in the case from our reporter Charles Haviland.

[R]

Yeah, just by way of background, Isaac Andy had immigrated from Turkey to Spain as a teenager with his family in the late 1960s. And he really was a self made, probably multi billionaire, one of Spain's richest men. He had founded the fast fashion retailer Mango in 1984 and it had become, of course, a worldwide brand of great fame. He was hiking in Mountains in December 2024 near Barcelona in very rocky country near Montserrat, I believe he was actually hiking with just one person, his son Jonathan. And his life ended in tragedy. He fell to his death in this room, kind of ravine like landscape. And at the time, the investigators treated his death as an accident, really just assuming that he had slipped.

[E]

So why has the son been arrested now?

[R]

Well, what seems to have happened is that in October, the case having been closed earlier. But in October last year, the Catalan regional police force in Spain had reopened the investigation into his death, saying that Jonathan Andyk's testimony, he was the son who was with his father when he died was inconsistent in terms of the circumstances of the death of Mr. Andick Sr. And they had seized his mobile phone and started looking at the messages that had been sent and received at the time. And at the time, the Andick family said they were absolutely confident that Jonathan was innocent. He has now been arrested and the Spanish media are saying that he is suspected of involvement in his father's death. Now, he has always denied any responsibility, saying that this was an accident. But as I say, the police appear to have pointed to inconsistencies in accounts as to how Mr. Andick died, whether it was a ravine or a cliff and other circumstances like that.

[E]

Charles Haviland, you may not have heard of ghost sharks, glass castle worms, or even carnivorous tree sponges. And don't worry, that's not a knowledge gap, as these creatures have only just been discovered and logged by a group of scientists. Stephanie Prentice has this report.

[B]

Are you being serious?

[F]

Totally serious.

[S]

Sounds of excitement and disbelief from a team that have been hunting for sea creatures on the edges of the world. The group working for the Ocean Census have identified 1100 new marine species in the past 12 months. Called the World's Largest Mission to Accelerate Ocean species discovery. Dr. Michelle Taylor is head of science at Ocean Census and told us about finding a glass castle worm for the first time in deep water off the coast of Japan.

[N]

I'm a coral geek, so I love all coral. In the example of the glass castle. This worm, it's symbiotic, which means both of the parties get something from it. So the worm lives in this very spiky and it is glass. It's made of silica, these silica needles. And the, the sponge receives nutrients from, from the worm, so they're both gaining. And I just think those little stories in life, it's very rare to find them and discover them and especially to discover so many new ones.

[S]

The landmark study used new technology to log creatures in deep waters on a series of expeditions that brought together scientists from all around the world. But even they would admit the new findings are a drop in the ocean. When it comes to understanding the complex ecosystems under the water.

[N]

Species is the very foundational unit of how we categorize life around us. And in the marine environment, we do understand less. It's estimated perhaps 90% of the species in our marine environments are left to be discovered. So we're making decisions with partial data, really. So the more we can discover these species, the more we can contribute and the more we can understand the world around us and make those decisions with knowledge.

[S]

That knowledge, the researchers say, is particularly pertinent in contentious environmental debates on things like deep sea mining. And they're encouraging further consideration of planetary blind spots and closing the gap on our understanding of the marine realm.

[E]

Stephanie Prentice. And just before we go, my colleague Ollie Conway is with me, and you have a favor to ask, haven't you?

[I]

That's right. On the Fourth of July this year, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of independence back in 1776. In the run up to the celebrations, we'll have a special podcast looking at the state of America today. So if you have thoughts or questions on the matter, we'd love to hear from you. Please email [e-mail]. and if you can include a voice note, so much the better.

[D]

Thank you.

[E]

And thank you, Ollie. And that's it from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email [e-mail] you can also find us on XBCWorldService, use the hashtag Global Newspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Tom Waterworth. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time. Bye.

[B]

Bye.

[D]

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